I am not stealing (long)

[georgiab]

So another hectic long day at the thrift store with no happy ending....

We get a great deal of donations and they cover the counter space that we have....we always try out very best to section off a portion of the counter for when customers check out. That being said NOONE seems to understand that it is EXTREMELY annoying for them to lay purchases on the counter and continue to shop...What they do not realize is that many times if not everytime it is difficult to decipher what belongs to who. And of course they always say DO NOT let anyone get that...well that's not my responsiblity!

Okay so on to the SC that made me lose my cool (in front of manager)...she wants to lay her purchases on the counter...well I politely inforn here that she can either use a basket or lay them close to te counter..WELL I AM JUST GOING TO MY CAR!!! Oh, I reply so you are ready to check out..YES I AM...Okay I inform that is fine and go ahead and bag the stuff..well she trottles her bitch ass back in and saids Oh I am not checking out and takes the bag and saids I have more shopping to do...oooookkkkkaaaayyyy (very hard at this point to hold back pointing out that what she had said) so anyway I inform co-worker that she had not paid for them and explained the situation...so IF i was not checking her out that she had two coats one 7.50 one for 5.00.....

This is where it turns tragic-

Co-worker is checking her out ...said Co-woker rings her up for the two coats (still in bag) she wants to know why she has been rung up for the 5.00 coat ..co-worker then informs her that I had let her know that she had the coats in case she wasn't checking her out (it's policy that we let each other know)...so me cluseless as to what has been said walks up to a pissed off bitch who starts to berate me saying that she wasn't going to steal and I shouldn't have told my co-worker that she was..thsi went on a few times and I had enough..I said Ma'am I did not say that nor imply that...she then sads in her mass confusion that I said it to her and my co-worker..people are staring and then i get it I know what this going....she is now to the point of implying that I amaccussing her of this because she is black...Now this infuriates me I siad ma'am do not insinuate anything about me I am not what you are implying....she continues with it and I say well i am sorry speak to my manger who did nothing but yell at me and tell me to go to the back...(she could have explained the policy) but that would require som GD backbone.... What you have to understand is that apparantly this woman was already pissed from the get go that a set of furniture was already sold that she wanted (manager could have gave us a heads up)

I was so distraught over this..I even told the woman I would not want her not to come back because she thought I felt that way...but from what backboneless manger saids she is always difficult....I cried alot over this because i hadn't let anyone get to me since working here (over a year) and we deal with alot of crazies on a daily basis....
My manger lectured me about how I made a fool of myself...finally I said okay I get it I feel bad enough...Ya'll help me out here...I am still down about this B.S...I am not what this woman was making me out to be....

[Titi]

Wait the customer got mad because she was rang up for a coat that she hadn't paid for yet?

Your manager really does need to get a backbone if she couldn't see that possible scam coming a mile away. And that's what the customer tried to do. Or else why would she be so upset over being charged for something she was planning on purchasing anyways?

[Listerfiend]

Customers just need to learn that all associates EVERYWHERE automatically assume the worst--and that often means that we all assume that each customer is a potential thief. Of course we can never put it like that, but if the customer ever asks about stuff like that (I've disclosed information tons of times to associates about customers who were being shifty), I always make a big deal to say "it's just to avoid confusion" so that way nothing's implied. It doesn't always work, but some SCs are just bastardy like that.

[georgiab]

Just two days after said event ...bitch shows back up...refuses to even look at me...NOW if you really believed someone felt that you were stealing..would you actually come back when that person is there...Ummm No... I know I wouldn't!!

[RammsteinGirl]

Did your manager reprimand you in front of the customers? I'm not sure if I read your post correctly. Was the lady trying to get away with only paying for one coat, even though there were two in her bag? If so, and if your manager actually yelled at you for trying to protect the shop against theft, I'd be looking for another job.

[georgiab]

My manager wouldn't even listen to me..so it didn't matter...if she had listened to the situation like i asked she would have known what was going on.

[BookstoreEscapee]

Sounds to me like your manager was out of line. If she's going to reprimand you then she should make sure she hears your side of the story.

Hope you are feeling better about it all today.

[georgiab]

Thanks ya'll...I am looking for another job..but it is such a fun place to work sometimes but for over 5 months now I have been walking on eggshells with management and customers....

[Andara Bledin]

Chiming in a little late on this:

If the place you work is corporate, I'd consider writing a letter as if I were a customer complaining about the "deplorable" way the manager treated the associate and how uncomfortable it made me feel to be there.

There is no excuse for discipline to ever be carried out in a public setting.

^-.-^

[Scooley01]

I totally understand. The other day I answered the phone at the restaurant and it was a man calling in to complain. It's not a huge deal, it happens once or twice a night. We are not allowed as employees (Non managers) to do anything but collect the caller's information and story onto the complaint form. We can't offer any sort of compensation at all.

Well I am asking this guy questions to get all the information on the page, and at the end of the form, I am supposed to either get my manager on the phone so he/she can complete the form, or inform the person that the owners of the store will contact them as soon as possible. Our managers only offer food for missing orders if the person is willing to accept it, for especially irate customers, we simply forward the info to the owners (Small chain) and they usually mail the customer a gift card or something.

Well my manager was not in sight, so instead of putting the already angry man on hold, I told him that our managers were busy at the moment, but that the owners would contact him about his complaint. He immediately starts screaming and yelling over the phone, accusing me of being racist, and just "trying to get him to get off the phone" and starts talking about how he saw me and some other employees laughing and pointing at his food and tons of utter bullshit. By the time I got the nerve to hang up (out of frustration, since I couldn't get the guy to shut up long enough to explain anything) I was practically in tears. I work for a freaking fast food place, I should at no point ever be on the verge of CRYING due to a customer!

Turns out the reason my manager was out of sight was because she was listening in on the call, attempting to evaluate the phone skills of whoever answered the phone...she said that I handled it very well, and that she would have probably hung up the phone way sooner, and commended me for sticking it out. Made me feel tons better.